Mark Twain told a wonderful story about one man’s search for the world’s greatest general. The man spent an entire lifetime looking for the general and finally the day for his last journey. When he arrived in heaven he walked over to St. Peter and said, “I’m looking for the world’s greatest general.”
St. Peter said, “I know, we’ve been expecting you and I have good news. If you’ll look over right over there, you will see the world’s greatest general.”
The old man excitedly looked over and said, “That is not the world’s greatest general. That man was a cobbler on Main Street in my hometown!”
St. Peter responded, “But had he been a general, he would have been the greatest general ever.”
The moral of the story is that sometimes you need someone else to tell you who you are and what you are capable of. There is a hidden talent in all of us – the unpolished gem. Go discover it!!!
If I do not have any wisdom to offer, be rest assured that I'll offer you my ignorance.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
GTM Strategies: Going the distance
When I first started doing business, I used to read a lot of books written by business leaders like Charles Handy, Thomas J. Watson, Peter Drucker, and Guy Kawasaki. If there was one thing that I learned from them was their absolute dedication to a single mission – some call this strategic focus.
Most people put a lot of emphasis on setting up an infrastructure for their new business. While basic infrastructure is the basic building block of any good business, setting up the superstructure is the basis of a great business. Infrastructure refers to the capital goods, tables and chairs, office space and so on. On the other hand, superstructure refers to the intangibles like partnerships, branding, innovation, capability or core competency. The intangibles are the hardest to build. Often building your superstructure becomes the strategic obsession.
For a startup company, the strategic focus is based on the key success factors of your business. In an industry that is highly innovative with low costs and low barriers of entry, our key success factor was gain leadership position in one key market segment. Ironically, doing this is contrary to conventional wisdom of spreading the risks by diversifying the business.
Depending on the financial resources available to the startup, the company at this stage can exercise one or more of these options:
1. Develop new capabilities in the adjacent vertical markets.
2. Develop new products and services in the horizontal base markets,
Most companies at this stage plunge further into their own micro-verticals to enjoy the fruits of their labour without any consideration for opportunities in the horizontal market segments. However, in a lot of cases, especially in mature markets, the company would be better off serving and dominating their own markets.
Transitioning into a horizontal market is like making the next big bet. The team needs to evaluate not just the financial ramifications but needs to make as assessment on the formation of new partnerships, product/service capabilities and execution time.
Most people put a lot of emphasis on setting up an infrastructure for their new business. While basic infrastructure is the basic building block of any good business, setting up the superstructure is the basis of a great business. Infrastructure refers to the capital goods, tables and chairs, office space and so on. On the other hand, superstructure refers to the intangibles like partnerships, branding, innovation, capability or core competency. The intangibles are the hardest to build. Often building your superstructure becomes the strategic obsession.
For a startup company, the strategic focus is based on the key success factors of your business. In an industry that is highly innovative with low costs and low barriers of entry, our key success factor was gain leadership position in one key market segment. Ironically, doing this is contrary to conventional wisdom of spreading the risks by diversifying the business.
Depending on the financial resources available to the startup, the company at this stage can exercise one or more of these options:
1. Develop new capabilities in the adjacent vertical markets.
2. Develop new products and services in the horizontal base markets,
Most companies at this stage plunge further into their own micro-verticals to enjoy the fruits of their labour without any consideration for opportunities in the horizontal market segments. However, in a lot of cases, especially in mature markets, the company would be better off serving and dominating their own markets.
Transitioning into a horizontal market is like making the next big bet. The team needs to evaluate not just the financial ramifications but needs to make as assessment on the formation of new partnerships, product/service capabilities and execution time.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Don't ever teach a Pig how to sing - It is a complete waste of time and it annoys the pig!!!
I dont mean any disrespect to anyone who has worked with me or anyone else for I am just intrigued by this title and I hope you'll go on to read my post.
I used to run a startup before starting Protegesoft and it was a complete failure. Just as I sit down and reflect on what went wrong -- I just can't seem to put my finger on anything. There was nothing right about it from the word GO!!!
The company was well funded by the National Science and Technology Board, Singapore (now known as A*STAR). I had a professional Board of Directors, had $600,000 cash to develop a product. Hired a top class student to head the product development, a senior banker to manage the finances, an ex-banker to incubate the company and despite the best intentions and effort by all - the company failed to develop a product and ran out of gas!
I was new to business - so I got an Incubation Manager to manage my business. The result was nothing short of disaster. There was so much emphasis in recruiting a full management team. The priorities were all wrong. As a company focused on R&D, we should have spent more resources on product development and less on having a professional team.
Learning from these lessons, I have been extremely careful with the people that I hire. I insulate the engineers and the product development team from the rest of the corporate guys. I handle and direct the product development.
For the same reasons, I have also kept the company private and away from the venture capital firms. Having third party capital would put undue pressure on delivering revenue and profit targets with little regard for long term development of capability.
The structure of innovative young startups is very different from a large multi-national corporation. The corporate reporting lines are blurred and if you were to draw an organisational chart for a young startup, it should look more like a concentric model with the CEO/ Founder in the centre... because, the company is small and there is really no need to have formal reporting lines. This kind of structure also promotes innovation and invention through infomal lines of communication.
I find that smaller teams or groups are more effective and innovative than larger teams. Big teams are completely useless when it comes to product development. The most effective team sizes range from five to seven. Anything bigger seems to get too political and ineffective.
Unless you want to run your business aground - never ever hire a manager from a large company managing a large team to run your innovative startup. Somehow, they dont seem to appreciate that smaller innovative startups thrive on messy informal communication and organisation structures. They may be exceptions -- but you may need to kiss many frogs before you find your prince!!!
I used to run a startup before starting Protegesoft and it was a complete failure. Just as I sit down and reflect on what went wrong -- I just can't seem to put my finger on anything. There was nothing right about it from the word GO!!!
The company was well funded by the National Science and Technology Board, Singapore (now known as A*STAR). I had a professional Board of Directors, had $600,000 cash to develop a product. Hired a top class student to head the product development, a senior banker to manage the finances, an ex-banker to incubate the company and despite the best intentions and effort by all - the company failed to develop a product and ran out of gas!
I was new to business - so I got an Incubation Manager to manage my business. The result was nothing short of disaster. There was so much emphasis in recruiting a full management team. The priorities were all wrong. As a company focused on R&D, we should have spent more resources on product development and less on having a professional team.
Learning from these lessons, I have been extremely careful with the people that I hire. I insulate the engineers and the product development team from the rest of the corporate guys. I handle and direct the product development.
For the same reasons, I have also kept the company private and away from the venture capital firms. Having third party capital would put undue pressure on delivering revenue and profit targets with little regard for long term development of capability.
The structure of innovative young startups is very different from a large multi-national corporation. The corporate reporting lines are blurred and if you were to draw an organisational chart for a young startup, it should look more like a concentric model with the CEO/ Founder in the centre... because, the company is small and there is really no need to have formal reporting lines. This kind of structure also promotes innovation and invention through infomal lines of communication.
I find that smaller teams or groups are more effective and innovative than larger teams. Big teams are completely useless when it comes to product development. The most effective team sizes range from five to seven. Anything bigger seems to get too political and ineffective.
Unless you want to run your business aground - never ever hire a manager from a large company managing a large team to run your innovative startup. Somehow, they dont seem to appreciate that smaller innovative startups thrive on messy informal communication and organisation structures. They may be exceptions -- but you may need to kiss many frogs before you find your prince!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Road Less Traveled
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
...Robert Frost
I read this poem as a student twenty years ago.... and after all these years I can really say that this is my favourite poem for the road that I have taken has made all the difference.
I do wonder from time to time if another career would have given me the same opportunities in life. It is hard to say but the path that I have taken was full of trials and tribulations.
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
...Robert Frost
I read this poem as a student twenty years ago.... and after all these years I can really say that this is my favourite poem for the road that I have taken has made all the difference.
I do wonder from time to time if another career would have given me the same opportunities in life. It is hard to say but the path that I have taken was full of trials and tribulations.
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